Author Interview: Terry Long

Terry Long's debut novel, The Notorious Proposal, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble as well as other distributors. Today I have the pleasure of introducing her to you. She's sort of a secretive person and not at all related to Terry Guiliano Long, at least I don't think so...

Psst... Here are the exclusives I pried out of her.

So Terry, tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get started as a writer?
Like most writers, I tend to do a bit of daydreaming, so about two years ago, I thought it might be fun to capture the scene in my head and put it to paper.  When I found out just how much fun it was, I never stopped writing or plotting...or having conversations with my characters.

Daydreams, yes, I love those, especially the yummy ones. So what sparked the idea for The Notorious Proposal?
It’s no surprise The Notorious Proposal began with one of my many daydreams.  “What would a woman do, and how would she feel if cornered into marrying a man she didn't fancy?...a man who was a sinfully handsome brute?”  And then, of course, I got to thinking, “Well, hell!  How would a man feel, and what would he do?”  Following these thoughts, I had my plot!  

Cool, I wish I could get my plot from a dream. So who is your favorite character?
My favorite character would have to be the hero, Michael Langdon.  I wanted him to come off as fierce and merciless, and I wished readers to believe him irredeemable.  I wanted to expose his true character slowly, so readers could discover at the same time our heroine does, why he is the man he is, and begin to love him, despite his atrocious behavior.

Love that hot alpha behavior. Was it fun writing him?
Yes, I loved building up Michael’s loutish character, because I knew that my following move would have to be putting him through an ordeal to redeem him!  Ha!

So let me see, you get your plot from daydreaming but you have fun writing it down. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I should like to think I’m both.  I have tons—ok, not tons, but lots and lots of plotlines labeled by titles, all set to be written.  (My characters are standing by as we speak!)  Once I choose the story I’d like to interpret, I make an outline.  From there, I let each scene unfold and each character develop.

Ha, ha. They're all breathing down your neck. "Me, me! Write about me!" Any reason why you chose the Regency Period to write about? Any authors influenced you growing up?
Julie Garwood is one of my favorite authors.  She is the reason I breathe historical romance novels to this day.

Can't wait to see what you have next. Another historical romance?

Oh yes. I’m really excited about my newest characters. They are not your typical Regency’s prim-and-proper heroine or big, bad, aristocratically-tied hero. So far, she’s making me smirk in absolute approval while he’s making me want to pat his shoulder and say, “There, there.”  I can’t wait to share their love story with everyone! 

Sounds like loads of fun! Thanks for giving us insight on your writing and tempting us with your upcoming story.

You can contact Terry at terrylongbooks @ gmail.com